Additives Market Report
Bridget Klebaur, Associate Editor
In the paint and coatings industry, additives play an impor- tant role offering adhesion for paint, preventing growth of mildew and overall improving paint characteristics. Overall,
growth in 2013 was slow, and as we progress into 2014 the
market itself is optimistic albeit struggling.
“Additives, particularly rheology modifiers and dispersants
continued to play a key role in end-performance requirements in
the paint and coatings market during 2013,” explained Amber
Goodyear, marketing manager, Coatex Inc. “The outlook for
2014 remains optimistic, with eyes continuing to follow the
housing market. Particularly as interest rates begin to rise and
employment numbers evolve.”
Benjamin Dupnik, global segment manager, coatings, Cabot
Corp., said that the market did indeed grow slowly in 2013
driven by increases in automotive production, overall indus-
trial production and the beginnings of a rebound in the con-
struction sector.
“Growth in developed economies remained sluggish in
2013, and this trend will likely continue in 2014,” Dupnik said.
“Among BRIC economies, only China is demonstrating a favor-
able growth rate in the coatings market, while India and Brazil
have been flat or declining. In general, the overall coatings mar-
ket growth rates tend to hold true for additives as well. The
key to outperforming in the additive market is to identify and
provide innovative products to the parts of the coatings market
that are experiencing the fastest growth.”
Izzy Colon, VP/general manager, additives, Troy Corporation
explained that the market remains competitive, with the advan-
tage going to suppliers who offer multifunctional additives that
perform the job of several products.
“The additives market in North America has experienced
some improvement; Europe remains relatively flat; and Asia
continues to be the growth leader,” Colon said. “Troy is in a
strong position to supply these regional markets with the right
technologies that offer high levels of performance, environmen-
tal responsibility, and cost efficiencies, backed by regional dis-
tribution, regulatory assistance, and accessible technical service
and support.”
Eric Dumain, North American market manager, industrial
coatings, Arkema Coating Resins explained that the additives
market fared positively this year, driven in part by strength in
North America in segments including building and construction,
automotive, infrastructure spending and energy.
“2014 is expected to be another growth year as these mar-
kets continue to gradually return to pre-recession levels, and the
industrial coatings markets accelerate in response to growth in
durable goods orders,” Dumain said.
Laura Bittle, product manager-Americas, advanced organics,
OMG Americas, Inc., said that they saw low growth in terms of
additives this year.
“Globally we saw low single digit growth for additives,”
Bittle said. “Growth was led by China with the Americas and
Europe showing GDP growth rates. We expect 2014 to be
stronger than 2013 as the global economic uncertainty starts
to improve.”
BASF said that the additives market grew globally, especially
for water-based applications.
“We expect the slow global recovery to continue modest
growth for 2014,” said Alex Warren, market segment manager,
transportation and industrial coatings, BASF Corp.
Bruce Seeber, business line manager of paint, BYK USA Inc.
said that the market started slow in 2013, due to the late spring
and the delay in paint sales.
“It rebounded well through the year and was driven by a
rejuvenated West Coast market. The wood coatings market
was also surprisingly strong,” Seeber said. “Other markets,
such as the industrial coatings market, specifically the heavy
equipment and the coil segments, were flat. Sales into the au-
tomotive market kept pace with continuing strong automotive
sales. We were very happy with the market’s interest in new
technology and the increasing interest to improve performance
of existing coatings technology.”
Seeber also anticipated 2014 to remain strong in the archi-
tectural coatings market due to the housing market – both new
and resale – continuing to gain momentum.
“This should outpace the overall North American coatings
industry growth,” he said. “There should also be a slight re-
bound for the general industrial coatings market, but this will
still be slower than the rest of the coatings markets.”
Sel Avci, business development manager, Solvay
Novecare Coatings said that the overall additives market
for 2013 was inconsistent.
“The first half of the year got off to a slow start due to very
tentative economic recovery and wet weather, which delayed
the start of the paint season in the second quarter,” Avci said.
“However, the market bounced back in the third and fourth
quarters, suggesting a cautiously optimistic outlook for 2014.
The recovery of the U.S. housing market and the improvement
of the general economy is likely to lead to volume growth, most
notably in the architectural coatings segment.”
